The Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) and the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police carried out, this Thursday (21), search and seizure warrants at addresses linked to 11 suspected of fraud against Banco do Brasil (BB). The criminal scheme caused losses of more than R$40 million to the financial institution.
According to investigations by the Robbery and Theft Police Station and the Specialized Action Group to Combat Organized Crime of the MPRJ (Gaeco), the criminal group has been operating since December 2023 and used electronic devices such as modems and clandestine routers to access internal systems of bank branches . From this invasion of the system, criminals obtained confidential customer data, manipulating this information to commit financial fraud.
According to investigations, the group acted in an organized manner, with division of specific tasks between them: recruiters, installers, financial operators and leaders.
In just eight months, according to the MPRJ, those under investigation broke into the security system of BB branches located in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Barra da Tijuca, Vila Isabel, Centro do Rio, as well as units located in the municipalities of Niterói, Tanguá, Nilópolis and Duque de Caxias.
The investigations into the so-called Master Key operation were initiated based on information from the financial institution’s Institutional Security Unit. The targets of the operation are being investigated for criminal organization and hacking of a computer device.
Sixteen search and seizure warrants issued by the 1st Criminal Court Specialized in Criminal Organizations of Rio de Janeiro are being carried out in the city of São Gonçalo and in the neighborhoods of Taquara, Barra da Tijuca, Praça Seca, Magé, Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Pechincha, Cidade de God, Magalhães Bastos and Irajá.
